Page 110 of Puck Prince

“You don’t drink?” Lance asks.

“She does!” Kennedy answers for me. “But recently, she’s been kind of lame about it. Girl, this is a party! Do a Washington Apple with me.”

Lance wrinkles his nose. “Really? You’re going to ruin perfect good alcohol with a bunch of trash?”

She rolls her eyes to him in a look that could level the building. “The only trash I see in this room is you.”

“Kennedy…” I cover my mouth with my hand. When my life isn’t on fire, I need to figure out what’s with these two.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Owen steps in. “Callie doesn’t have to drink if she doesn’t want to. I'm perfectly capable of getting her drunk without booze.”

Before I can ask what he means, Owen kisses me again. His hands find their way down my back to just above my ass and he pulls me hard into him. From the contact, I realize a lot of things are hard.

Jesus, this man is ready for a round two.

“Okay, you know what? You two can suck face, but I wanna dance.” Kennedy throws both hands up and twirls.

“Funny you say that, because I was just about to ask,” Lance says, handing her a shot of tequila. “Oh, sorry, I forgot to ask if you need training wheels.”

Kennedy shoots it back without any expression whatsoever, her eyes locked hard and cold on Lance. “Do I look like a woman who needs help riding a bike?” With that, she walks towards the dance floor.

“So is that a yes or no on dancing with me?” he calls out. Kennedy continues to march away, answering with only a raised middle finger.

“Are you sure you want to get caught up in that?” Owen asks Lance, his arms still around me.

“What can I say? I like ‘em with teeth.”

“Those aren’t teeth, bro, they’re fangs! The girl’s a rattlesnake!” Owen laughs, then looks at me. “No offense to your cousin. Lovely, lovely girl.”

I hold up my hands. “None taken.”

“Speaking of dancing, though…” Owen looks down at me.

Before he can finish the question, I answer with, “God, yes.”

It’s different than at the charity ball. For one, this isn’t smooth jazz—it’s club music. Turns out the boy can dance to anything. Also turns out my backside and his front side fit together like a glove.

After a few songs that leave me sweating and breathing heavily, he spins me around and pulls me against him. While the music is still bumping, we slow our movement down to a fluid grind.

“So what’s going on with Lance and Kennedy?” I ask.

Our foreheads are pressed together. I’m pretending it’s so I can hear him, but I just don’t want to give up an inch between us.

“I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“He’s your best friend. How do you not know?”

“She’s your cousin. How doyounot know?”

I can’t help but wince. “Honestly, after I graduated, I wasn’t around for a bit. I was working for another team and was distracted all the time. It wasn’t until I started working for the Scythes that she and I got close again.”

“Makes sense.” Owen nods, his hands roaming. “Well, I’m glad to see she’s having a good time dancing, even if it’s not with Lance.”

“Yeah, Kennedy is one of those girls that will dance on her own. She knows how to enjoy herself.”

“Oh, she’s not dancing alone,” he says. “She found a new victim.”

“Why am I not surprised?” My eyes scan the dance floor until I see her. Sure enough, she’s grinding away with someone, her eyes closed as she writhes against him.

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